Hendrik Hilpert stood inside Manley Field House this past Thursday and confidently predicted that Syracuse’s matchup against Boston College wouldn’t be his last home game. The four-year starter knew a win against the Eagles would be a critical step for the Orange to secure a home match in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

After Friday night’s game, after the scoreboard read zeroes for the fourth time, and both teams spilled onto the field, cold, disappointed, and ultimately, tied, Hilpert had the same mindset.

“This was not our last home game,” Hilpert said. “We will go into the NCAA Tournament with a good ranking.”

He may be right. The Orange has a mathematical chance to host another game this season, but it’s unlikely. No. 20 Syracuse’s (7-5-4, 1-4-3 Atlantic Coast) 2018 is one of inconsistency. It’s hung with top teams and dropped points against conference basement dwellers. Friday night was no different. SU wasted a chance against Boston College (4-7-4, 2-5-1) in a 0-0 double-overtime draw at SU Soccer Stadium. It dominated nearly all areas of the game, outshooting BC 24-9. Despite four more corner kicks than the Eagles, the Orange couldn’t convert. In the only category that mattered, Syracuse failed.

SU’s home and away disparity — 4-2-2 at home, 3-3-2 on the road, — heightened the pressure of the matchup. It had three chances of the last two weeks to make Friday night’s contest less crucial to its conference tournament hopes. It went up two goals on the road against Louisville, a team it’s never beat on the road, and conceded two quick goals to earn a draw. A road game against North Carolina State was a 1-1 stalemate. And last Tuesday’s 3-2 loss was to a Clemson team that hadn’t won a conference game before SU rolled into town.

The BC game represented a chance to salvage another disappointing ACC season. Despite near inverted records, Boston College thrived in the games that meant more, earning more points and having a better chance to host a tournament matchup.

“We lacked quality in front of goal tonight,” Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said. “We created some chances, put some pressure on them, put a lot of balls in areas, but it was our final quality tonight.”

SU utilized its midfield to control possession in the first half, which turned into chances. Jonathan Hagman found Tajon Buchanan streaking behind the backline, running off the right centerback’s outside shoulder. Buchanan was taken down and the ensuing free kick by Hugo Delhommelle tricked the crowd into thinking the Orange scored.

As would become a first-half trend, Syracuse couldn’t capitalize. A long ball to Ryan Raposo yanked BC goalkeeper Antonio Chavez Borrelli off his line. The netminder cleared the ball with his head out to Buchanan in midfield. As Buchanan’s prayer arched and plummeted toward Earth, the crowd noise built. Fans were silenced as two Eagles players collided and knocked it away. Two more ricochet shots were blocked and the threat ended with a wide shot by Raposo.

“They were sitting back pretty deep,” junior transfer Massimo Ferrin said. “They were just letting us have the ball. Sometimes that can be difficult to break down when a team sits back and you have to beat almost all 11 guys.”

Midway through the first, as Hilpert corralled a weak shot, McIntyre clapped his hands and screamed, “Forward, forward.” Seconds later. Another Raposo strike was deflected near the six-yard box. Hagman’s second-chance was again stopped by Chavez Borrelli.

Syracuse’s last quality shot in the half was spoiled by Buchanan. A cross-field pass from substitute Julio Fulcar connected with Raposo who whipped it into SU’s best-finisher. The sophomore scissor-kicked the ball and pushed it wide right. Flat on his back, feet inches from the goal line, Buchanan stayed on the ground and held his face in his hands.

Chavez Borrelli faced six shots and held strong, keeping Syracuse in the hunt for the tournament-shifting goal.

Ferrin said the offensive plan was to generate quick shots around the 18-yard box. With the Eagles sitting back, Syracuse forwards couldn’t generate the space needed for long shots. McIntyre said after the game they needed to “work” Chavez Borrelli more.

BC opened the second half creating pressure. Ronaldinho Diniz’ shot in the 50th minute froze Hilpert who watched it sail high. SU responded with launching its backline forward, a tactic it’s used earlier this season to unbalance opposing defenses.

The tactic worked and the second-half shot total rocketed. Ferrin broke free on the left wing and pushed a shot high after getting a pass from a center back. Hagman laid a pass off to Hilli Goldhar’s left foot which curled too much.

“It’s coming, boys,” An SU fan from yelled. “It’s coming.”

Moments later, as if fate decided to joke, Goldhar was a step slow on an aired through ball and was an inch away from chipping the keeper. Ferrin had another chance in the 75th minute after gliding to the top of the box and struck the ball wide.

SU tried it all, low-driven shots, through balls, crosses and finesse attempts, to no avail.

Each squad traded the ball in the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter. In another impressive defensive performance at home, the defense held. It limited BC to five shots in regulation while graduate-student Len Zeugner watched his second game in the last week from the sidelines.

When the clock trickled under five minutes on regulation, the crowd started a “Let’s go Orange” chant. They stomped on bleachers, shook under layers, and watched SU head into an extra period with 22 shots, zero goals and a chunk of missed opportunities.

SU earned a corner kick in the second minute of overtime, but the ball sailed higher than a leaping Sondre Norheim. BC’s only shot of the frame, a mis-hit floater by Callum Johnson, drew a laugh from fans in the crowd. The Eagles outshot the Orange 2-1 in the initial extra period but no quality chances preserved the stalemate.

With two minutes left in the game, Syracuse was inches away from a ‘W.’ Delhommelle knocked a corner into the box, and Ferrin headed it off the crossbar. For a second, the ball teetered above the goal line. McIntyre threw his hands in the hair as it was cleared and a pocket of fans groaned.

“Another day that one nestles in the bottom corner, and we’ve won the game,” McIntyre said. “But it wasn’t to be tonight.”

Postgame, McIntyre refused to call the matchup a “must-win.” A victory wouldn’t have secured a home game next week, but a loss certainly eliminated the possibility. Heading into Wednesday’s postseason kickoff, SU will have one lone victory — a 2-0 upset of then-No. 1 Wake Forest on Oct. 5 — in the last two years of conference matchups.

McIntyre said he’s not scoreboard watching and will wait to hear where his team is playing when records are finalized tomorrow night. After Friday night’s showing, at least he knows SU will be traveling.

Published on October 26, 2018 at 9:45 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez